# book

> English word · Noun · IPA /bʊk/ · frequency rank #353

## Definitions
1. A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc.
2. A long work fit for publication, typically prose, such as a novel or textbook, and typically published as such a bound collection of sheets, but now sometimes electronically as an e-book.
3. A major division of a long work.
4. A record of betting (from the use of a notebook to record what each person has bet).
5. A bookmaker (a person who takes bets on sporting events and similar); bookie; turf accountant.
6. A convenient collection, in a form resembling a book, of small paper items for individual use.
7. The script of a musical or opera.
8. Records of the accounts of a business.
9. A book award, a recognition for receiving the highest grade in a class (traditionally an actual book, but recently more likely a letter or certificate acknowledging the achievement).
10. Six tricks taken by one side.
11. Four of a kind.
12. A document, held by the referee, of the incidents that happened in a game.
13. A list of all players who have been booked (received a warning) in a game.
14. The list of mares that a stallion will breed in a given season.
15. A list of the races that a jockey is scheduled to ride in.
16. The twenty-sixth Lenormand card.
17. Any source of instruction.
18. The accumulated body of knowledge passed down among black pimps.
19. A portfolio of one's previous work in the industry.
20. The sum of chess knowledge in the opening or endgame.
21. A package of silk.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵosder.?
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂g-der.?
Proto-Germanic *bōks
Proto-West Germanic *bōk
Old English bōc
Middle English bok
English book
From Middle English bok, book, from Old English bōc, from Proto-West Germanic *bōk, from Proto-Germanic *bōks. Bookmaker sense by clipping.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots beuk, buik, buke (“book”), Yola buke (“book”), North Frisian Bok, buk, bök (“book”), Saterland Frisian Bouk (“book”), West Frisian, Dutch boek (“book”), Alemannic German Buech (“book”), Bavarian Buach (“book”), Central Franconian Booch, Buch (“book”), German, Luxembourgish Buch (“book”), German Low German Book (“book”), Limburgish book, Bouk (“book”), Vilamovian büch (“book”), Yiddish בוך (bukh, “book”), Danish bog (“book”), Elfdalian buok (“book”), Faroese, Icelandic bók (“book”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish bok (“book”).

## Easily confused with
- **boy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-boy)
- **box** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-box)
- **bro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-bro)
- **bow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-bow)
- **bot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-bot)
- **bop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-bop)
- **bor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-bor)
- **both** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-both)
- **born** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-born)
- **boys** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-boys)
- **boss** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-boss)
- **bowl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-bowl)
- **boom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-boom)
- **boot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-boot)
- **bulk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-bulk)
- **bros** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-bros)
- **bout** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-bout)
- **buck** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-buck)
- **bore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-bore)
- **Boyd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-boyd)

## Common misspellings (3)
`bbook`, `bookk`, `obok`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/book